Connections, Referrals, and Hiring Outcomes: Evidence from an Egyptian Establishment Survey.

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Title: Connections, Referrals, and Hiring Outcomes: Evidence from an Egyptian Establishment Survey.
Authors: Osman, Adam1 (AUTHOR), Speer, Jamin D.1,2 (AUTHOR), Weaver, Andrew1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. Dec2022, Vol. 204, p342-355. 14p.
Subjects: Nepotism, Prediction models, Labor productivity
Geographic Terms: Egypt
Abstract: Network-based hiring is a common form of recruitment in businesses across the world. We administered a unique survey of Egyptian retail establishments to study the use of these hiring methods. We document important differences in establishments' use of ties to the owner ("connections") and to employees ("referrals") and their relationships with hiring outcomes. While all types of establishments use referrals at similar rates, use of owner connections varies widely and is most common among small informal establishments. Armed with these facts, we construct a simple model of hiring which clearly predicts that connections and referrals should have heterogeneous effects on hiring outcomes depending on establishment type. Our empirical results are consistent with the model's predictions. When high-productivity establishments use connections, the practice is associated with lower-quality hires (nepotism), yet when low-productivity establishments use connections, they find more productive workers. By contrast, referrals benefit high-productivity establishments more due to network homophily. These findings indicate that policies designed to either limit or expand network-based hiring could benefit one type of organization while having negative effects on others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
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PubType: Academic Journal
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  Data: Connections, Referrals, and Hiring Outcomes: Evidence from an Egyptian Establishment Survey.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Osman%2C+Adam%22">Osman, Adam</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Speer%2C+Jamin+D%2E%22">Speer, Jamin D.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Weaver%2C+Andrew%22">Weaver, Andrew</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Economic+Behavior+%26+Organization%22">Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization</searchLink>. Dec2022, Vol. 204, p342-355. 14p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nepotism%22">Nepotism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prediction+models%22">Prediction models</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Labor+productivity%22">Labor productivity</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectGeographic
  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Egypt%22">Egypt</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Network-based hiring is a common form of recruitment in businesses across the world. We administered a unique survey of Egyptian retail establishments to study the use of these hiring methods. We document important differences in establishments' use of ties to the owner ("connections") and to employees ("referrals") and their relationships with hiring outcomes. While all types of establishments use referrals at similar rates, use of owner connections varies widely and is most common among small informal establishments. Armed with these facts, we construct a simple model of hiring which clearly predicts that connections and referrals should have heterogeneous effects on hiring outcomes depending on establishment type. Our empirical results are consistent with the model's predictions. When high-productivity establishments use connections, the practice is associated with lower-quality hires (nepotism), yet when low-productivity establishments use connections, they find more productive workers. By contrast, referrals benefit high-productivity establishments more due to network homophily. These findings indicate that policies designed to either limit or expand network-based hiring could benefit one type of organization while having negative effects on others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.jebo.2022.10.009
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 342
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Nepotism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Prediction models
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Labor productivity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Egypt
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Connections, Referrals, and Hiring Outcomes: Evidence from an Egyptian Establishment Survey.
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          Name:
            NameFull: Osman, Adam
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            NameFull: Speer, Jamin D.
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          Name:
            NameFull: Weaver, Andrew
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          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 12
              Text: Dec2022
              Type: published
              Y: 2022
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 01672681
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            – Type: volume
              Value: 204
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
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